In early afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fought back from its lows but remains on course to record its third consecutive decline. At the time of writing the benchmark index is down 0.65% to 5,186.5 points.
Four shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping lower:
The APA Group (ASX: APA) share price is down 2% to $10.62. This decline appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Morgans this morning. It has downgraded the energy company's shares to a hold rating with a $10.81 price target. It made the move on valuation grounds and after APA Group downgraded its EBITDA guidance lower.
The Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) share price is down almost 4% to $1.24. This morning the energy producer released its quarterly update and reaffirmed its underlying EBITDA guidance for FY 2020. It continues to expect to achieve the low end of its $1.175 billion to $1.25 billion range. While this is a positive, crashing oil prices overnight offset this.
The Freedom Foods Group Ltd (ASX: FNP) share price has dropped 5% to $4.16. On Tuesday the fast-growing food company revealed that it has experienced growth above plan in the Retail Grocery channel during the pandemic. This has been driven by favourable consumer spending shifts due to government imposed stay at home restrictions. Despite this, the company advised that it will defer its previously announced interim dividend.
The Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS) share price has continued its slide and is down a further 4% to $2.52. The wholesale distributor's shares have come under pressure since it successfully completed its $300 million fully underwritten institutional placement. This placement saw approximately 107.1 million new shares issued to institutional investors at a price of $2.80 per new share. This was a discount of 8% to its last close price at the time.
